page_title: Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine
section_title: History and design
hierarchical_section_title: Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine / History and design
caption_attribution_description: English: Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine
context_page_description: The Shāh Abdol-Azīm Shrine, also known as Shabdolazim, located in Rey, Iran, contains the tomb of ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Hasanī. Shah Abdol Azim was a fifth generation descendant of Hasan ibn ‘Alī and a companion of Muhammad al-Taqī. He was entombed here after his death in the 9th century.
  Adjacent to the shrine, within the complex, include the mausolea of Imamzadeh Tahir and Imamzadeh Hamzeh.
context_section_description: Ibn Qūlawayh al-Qummī (d. 978 CE) "includes the shrine in his Kāmil al-Ziyārāt, one of the earliest pilgrimage guides for the Shiʿa, which suggests that the tomb of ʿAbd al-Aẓīm was already of some importance by the tenth century." The tomb of Abdol-Azim had also come under the patronage of Sunni rulers at times, a notable example being the mausoleum constructed over Abdol-Azim's tomb in the 1090s CE by orders of the Seljuk vizier Majd  al-Mulk  Asʿad  b.  Muḥammad b. Mūsā.
  The whole construction consists of a portal with a lofty Iwan decorated with mirrors, several courtyards, a golden cupola, two tile minarets, a portico, a sepulcher, and a mosque.
  The most historical and portable relic of this holy place, is its costly box which is made of betel-nut wood. On four sides of this precious box, a relief inscription in Nastaliq and Thuluth characters, is carved. The inscription ends with the date  1330 CE, and the name of the maker of the box, i.e., Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Isfahani.
  An inlaid door near the mausoleum of Nasser al-Din Shah, (This place used to be called Masjid-i-Holaku, prior to its being turned into a tomb) which bears the date 1450 CE, i.e., the period of Shah-rokh Bahadur Timurid`s reign, constitutes another historical relic of this structure.
  Two antique iron doors which are engraved with Kufic inscriptions are to be found in the treasure-house of the (Astaneh), which seem to be the oldest remains of this structure and to belong to the Seljukid period. But, at present, these two doors and the concluding part of their inscriptions bear the date 1538. Further, there is an inlaid door which had formerly been installed in the northern part of the ivan of Imamzadeh Hamzeh.
  This door has an inscription in Tulth calligraphy, dated 1512. The cupola of this structure has been built upon the order of Majd al-Mulk radestani Qomi, and later on has been plated with gold. The ivan, portico and portal of the building date from the reign of Shah Tahmasp I (Safavid king). The gold-threaded silk belonging to the Safavid period. The silver-plated sepulcher has been made and installed by the order of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. The mirror-work, paintings and gildings of the structure belong to the 19th century. Reparations are still being carried out in this complex of holy structures. Adjoining this holy tomb, there are some other tombs belonging to the Qajar monarchs, and the Ulamahs (religious scholars) and other personalities.
caption: Inside Shrine
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